New Math

C                      Bbdim                     Dm/A
Now that's really four tens so you make it three tens,
                 Abdim    G7         C
Regroup, and you change a ten to ten ones,
                      Bbdim                       Dm/A      G7/B          C
And you add'em to the two and get twelve, And you take away three, that's nine.
                B
Is that clear?
       Em                  Em/Eb                 Em/D                     Em/Db
Now instead of four in the tens place you've got three, 'Cause you added one,
                Em/C
That is to say, ten, to the two,
        Em/B                  Em            Em/Eb       Em
But you can't take seven from three, So you look in the hundreds place.
Em                 Em/Eb             Em/D
From the three you then use one - to make ten ones...
         Em/Db        Em/C   Em/B     B           Em               G
(And you know why 4 + (-1) + 10 is 14 - 1? 'Cause addition is commutative, Right!)
    C/G                    Dm/A                   G7/B                   C
And so you've got thirteen tens and you take away seven, and that leaves five...
Well, six actually... But the idea is the important thing!
C                  Bbdim
Now go back to the hundreds place,
       Dm/A                   Abdim              C/G                 Ddim/F#
You're left with two, And you take away one from two, And that leaves...?
                   Dm/F
Everybody get one?  Not bad for the first day!

(G A B)    F         C7  B7  Bb7 A7
Hooray for New Math, New-hoo-hoo Math,
   Dm             Dm7      G7      C       A7
It won't do you a bit of good to review math.
        Dm              Eb
It's so simple, So very simple,
     G7               B  C
That only a child can do it!

Now, that actually is not the answer that I had in mind,
because the book that I got this problem out of wants you to do it in base eight.
But don't panic! Base eight is just like base ten really - if you're missing two fingers!
Shall we have a go at it? Hang on...
    C                     Bbdim                 Dm/A
You can't take three from two, Two is less than three,
                   Abdim       C/G
So you look at the four in the eights place.
C/G                    Bbdim                        Dm/A
Now that's really four eights, So you make it three eights,
                 Abdim     G7             C/G                         Bbdim
Regroup, and you change an eight to eight ones, And you add'em to the two,
                Dm/A                     G7/B
And you get one-two base eight, Which is ten base ten,
        G7/B      G7            C           B
And you take away three, that's seven.  Ok?
       Em                  Em/Eb                    Em/D                  Em/Db
Now instead of four in the eights place, You've got three, 'Cause you added one,
                Em/C                       Em                    B/Eb
That is to say, eight, to the two, But you can't take seven from three,
                   Em
So you look at the sixty-fours...

"Sixty-four? How did sixty-four get into it?" I hear you cry!
Well, sixty-four is eight squared, don't you see?
"Well, ya ask a silly question, ya get a silly answer!"
Em                  Em/Eb           Em/D
From the three, you then use one To make eight ones,
    Em/Db                 Em/C                   Em
You add those ones to the three, And you get one-three base eight,
       B/Eb                 G7                           Dm/A
Or, in other words, In base ten you have eleven, And you take away seven,
    G7/B                 C
And seven from eleven is four!
C                  Bbdim               Dm/A
Now go back to the sixty-fours, You're left with two,
        Abdim              G7                   D7
And you take away one from two, And that leaves?
                                         G7 C
Now, let's not always see the same hands!   One, that's right.
Whoever got one can stay after the show and clean the erasers.

(G A B)     F        C7  B7  Bb7 A7
Hooray for New Math, New-hoo-hoo Math,
   Dm             Dm7      G7      C       A7
It won't do you a bit of good to review math.
        Dm              Eb
It's so simple, So very simple,
     G7               B  C
That only a child can do it!

Cifra adaptada de fontes públicas. Direitos da composição pertencem aos autores e gravadoras originais. Esta página é parte do projeto educacional Mania de Músico.